Meatloaf From the Slow Cooker

I love meatloaf, but it’s hard to fit into a sensible diet and a busy schedule. This recipe takes care of both those concerns.

It’s not exactly a fix-it-and-forget it recipe, because it cooks in 3 or 4 hours rather than all day. Still, it would be nice to start the meatloaf after a weekend lunch, then run some errands (or go to a movie) and come home to a hot dinner.

Using lean ground beef and reduced-fat sausage keeps the calories well under 300.

If you’d like to pair the meatloaf with baked potatoes but are short on time or don’t want to fire up the oven, try this trick: Cook the potatoes in the microwave, then wrap them in clean kitchen towels for 5 minutes. The towels will absorb the steam, resulting in a fluffy “baked” potato more like one cooked in the oven.

This recipe and image are courtesy of Taste of Home: www.tasteofhome.com. They also appear in the February/March issue of Healthy Cooking, a magazine from Taste of Home.

Meatloaf From the Slow Cooker
Yield: 8 servings

1/2 cup tomato sauce
1/2 cup egg substitute
1/4 cup ketchup
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 small onion, chopped
1/3 cup crushed saltines (about 10 crackers)
3/4 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt
1/8 teaspoon seasoned pepper
1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef
1/2 pound reduced-fat bulk pork sausage
1/2 cup ketchup
3 tablespoons brown sugar
3/4 teaspoon ground mustard
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Cut three long narrow strips of heavy-duty foil; crisscross so they resemble spokes of a wheel. Place strips on the bottom and up the sides of a 4- or 5-quart slow cooker. Coat strips with cooking spray.

In a large bowl, combine tomato sauce, egg substitute, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, onion, crushed saltines, garlic, seasoned salt and seasoned pepper. Crumble beef and sausage over mixture and mix well (mixture will be moist). Shape into a loaf. Place meat loaf in the center of the strips.

In a small bowl, combine ketchup, sugar, mustard and nutmeg. Spoon over meat loaf. Cover and cook on low 3 to 4 hours or until a meat thermometer reads 160 degrees. Using foil strips as handles, remove the meat loaf to a platter.

Per serving: 267 calories, 12g fat (5g saturated fat), 72mg cholesterol, 740mg sodium, 16g carbohydrate, trace fiber, 23 g protein.

Diabetic exchanges: 3 lean meat, 1 starch, 1/2 fat.

Recipe contributed by Laura Burgess, Mt. Vernon, S.D.